Bottom Line:
Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) has recently been shown to be a marker of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) across tumour types.Using a liposarcoma xenograft model, we have identified a small population of cells with an inducible stem cell potential, expressing both ALDH and CD133 following culturing in stem cell medium.This potential CSC population, which makes up for 0,1-1,7 % of the cells, displayed increased self-renewing abilities and increased tumourigenicity, giving tumours in vivo from as few as 100 injected cells.

ABSTRACTAldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) has recently been shown to be a marker of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) across tumour types. The primary goals of this study were to investigate whether ALDH is expressed in liposarcomas, and whether CSCs can be identified in the ALDHhigh subpopulation. We have demonstrated that ALDH is indeed expressed in 10 out of 10 liposarcoma patient samples. Using a liposarcoma xenograft model, we have identified a small population of cells with an inducible stem cell potential, expressing both ALDH and CD133 following culturing in stem cell medium. This potential CSC population, which makes up for 0,1-1,7 % of the cells, displayed increased self-renewing abilities and increased tumourigenicity, giving tumours in vivo from as few as 100 injected cells.

Mentions:
Immunohistochemical analyses of ALDH1 expression in liposarcoma patient samples confirmed that 10 out of 10 samples expressed ALDH1. More specifically, 8 out of 10 samples expressed ALDH1 in more than 50% of the tumour cells. One patient sample displayed ALDH1 expression in 10 - 50% of the tumour cells, and for one patient sample, less than 10% of the tumour cells were ALDH1 positive (Figure 1, Table 1). The samples represented a range of liposarcoma sub-types (well-differentiated, de-differentiated, myxoid/round celled and pleomorphic liposarcoma). We were not able to find any correlations between particular liposarcoma subtypes and the level of ALDH1 expression in this small and diverse panel.

Mentions:
Immunohistochemical analyses of ALDH1 expression in liposarcoma patient samples confirmed that 10 out of 10 samples expressed ALDH1. More specifically, 8 out of 10 samples expressed ALDH1 in more than 50% of the tumour cells. One patient sample displayed ALDH1 expression in 10 - 50% of the tumour cells, and for one patient sample, less than 10% of the tumour cells were ALDH1 positive (Figure 1, Table 1). The samples represented a range of liposarcoma sub-types (well-differentiated, de-differentiated, myxoid/round celled and pleomorphic liposarcoma). We were not able to find any correlations between particular liposarcoma subtypes and the level of ALDH1 expression in this small and diverse panel.

Bottom Line:
Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) has recently been shown to be a marker of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) across tumour types.Using a liposarcoma xenograft model, we have identified a small population of cells with an inducible stem cell potential, expressing both ALDH and CD133 following culturing in stem cell medium.This potential CSC population, which makes up for 0,1-1,7 % of the cells, displayed increased self-renewing abilities and increased tumourigenicity, giving tumours in vivo from as few as 100 injected cells.

ABSTRACTAldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) has recently been shown to be a marker of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) across tumour types. The primary goals of this study were to investigate whether ALDH is expressed in liposarcomas, and whether CSCs can be identified in the ALDHhigh subpopulation. We have demonstrated that ALDH is indeed expressed in 10 out of 10 liposarcoma patient samples. Using a liposarcoma xenograft model, we have identified a small population of cells with an inducible stem cell potential, expressing both ALDH and CD133 following culturing in stem cell medium. This potential CSC population, which makes up for 0,1-1,7 % of the cells, displayed increased self-renewing abilities and increased tumourigenicity, giving tumours in vivo from as few as 100 injected cells.